By Rex Rumsey, MBA Candidate Class of ’25
Fall 2024 Kelley Life Sciences Industry from Research to Patient Course
November 5 Class 2: Long-term Research – University vs. Non-university, In-house vs. Outsourced, the Balance – Basic Research vs. Product and Process Development and Commercialization, Financing/ Grants, Technology Transfer.
Huge thanks to Labcorp, IU Innovation and Commercialization Office, and Cook Medical for giving IU students a firsthand look at the vital collaboration between academia and industry across the pre-discovery, discovery, and commercialization phases! As someone who has closely followed university spin-offs addressing the opioid crisis with innovative pain therapeutics derived from transcriptome and single-cell sequencing research, I found this particularly intriguing.
Erica Troksa of Lapcorp presents
Special shout-out to Erica Troksa for highlighting how the $2 billion investment and 10-year journey required to narrow down from 10,000+ molecules to just one FDA-approved drug has seen key improvements.
In 2012, Eroom’s Law brought attention to the escalating costs and extended timelines of drug discovery, caused by factors such as:
▪️ The challenge of meaningful improvements over existing drugs
▪️ Heightened regulatory caution
▪️ Inefficiencies from over-resourcing projects
▪️ An over-reliance on quick testing methods that often overlook biological complexities
Despite these challenges, Erica highlighted how firms are turning the tide. Since 2018, companies have strengthened partnerships, pursued M&A activities, reduced loss aversion, and increased biomarker-based innovation. Smaller biotech firms and academic spinouts are now at the forefront of drug discovery, surpassing Big Pharma. With their lower overhead costs and specialized expertise, these small, agile companies are able to pursue high-risk/reward opportunities that ultimately contribute to more than 50% of Big Pharma’s pipeline.
Lakshmi Sastry-Dent of the IU Innovation & Commercialization Office presents to students.
In academia, externalization, IP licensing, and crowdsourcing are vital for effective commercialization. Thank you, Lakshmi Sastry Dent, for your detailed insights on funding strategies and exit pathways for university-based innovations, whether through IPOs, private growth, acquisitions, or VC partnerships. It was humbling to learn how groundbreaking companies like Theratome Bio, MBX Biosciences, Inc., and Allinaire Therapeutics are harnessing IU researchers’ innovative patents to pioneer life-changing therapies!
Leslie Cook of Cook Medical presents.
Lastly, a big thank you to Leslie Cook for her insights on product management and lifecycle. Her emphasis on cross-functional teamwork, iterative processes, and understanding customer needs underscored how a balance between differentiation and cost-efficiency are key drivers of success in healthcare.
It’s inspiring to work alongside brilliant PhD students, entrepreneurs, and future healthcare leaders here at Indiana University – Kelley School of Business. Go Hoosiers! 🙌
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